Legit to Acquit

DELIBERATE Jury deliberations are set to begin today, March 14, in the case of Sean ''Puffy'' Combs, Jamal ''Shyne'' Barrow, and associate Anthony ''Wolf'' Jones. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos conducted closing arguments Tuesday, implying that Combs' defense witnesses were actually just acquaintances and employees spreading ''lies.'' Bogdanos spent almost six hours presenting his summation to the jury, according to the Associated Press. In it, the prosecutor said the evidence proves Combs and Barrow both pulled handguns and opened fire on Dec. 27, 1999 in a Manhattan nightclub. Combs' story is that he and then girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were leaving the club when someone tossed a wad of cash toward him, leading to a flurry of gunshots. If the jury, made up of seven men and five women, convict Combs or his bodyguard Jones on gun possession and bribery charges, they each face up to 15 years in state prison. Barrow, whose lawyer admitted he had fired a gun, on the other hand, could be jailed for up to 25 years on attempted murder and assault.

DAYTIME DIVA No, we're not talking about Susan Lucci. Regis Philbin, who has never won an Emmy despite eight nominations with Kathie Lee Gifford, just received two Daytime Emmy nods: outstanding talk show host and game show host. The nominations, which were announced Wednesday morning, provided Philbin's first solo talk show nomination. Reege is up against Rosie O'Donnell; Donny & Marie Osmond; and the ladies of ''The View'' in the talk show category. As for game show host, Philbin faces Tom Bergeron of ''Hollywood Squares,'' Alex Trebek of ''Jeopardy!'', Bob Barker of ''The Price is Right,'' and Ben Stein and Jimmy Kimmel of ''Win Ben Stein's Money.''

Speaking of La Lucci, she is back to compete again. After a one year absence, the perennial ''All My Children'' star is back on the ballots for best soap opera actress. She competes against last year's winner Susan Flannery (''The Bold and the Beautiful''), Martha Byrne (''As the World Turns''), and two fellow ''AMC'' actresses: Julia Barr and Marcy Walker. The actor nominees include old favorites David Canary (''AMC''), Tom Eplin and Jon Hensley (''As the World Turns''), John McCook (''The Bold and the Beautiful''), and Peter Bergman (''The Young and the Restless'').

CHART BUSTING Hear'Say, the band formed on the U.K. television series ''Popstars,'' just broke Britney Spears' record for the fastest selling debut single on the British charts. ''Pure and Simple,'' the group's first released single, sold 160,995 copies Monday, its first day on the market, smashing Spears' 1999 hit ''Baby One More Time,'' which moved 127,970 copies its first day out. To beat Spears' week one record, however, ''Pure and Simple'' must sell more than 464,000 copies this week. The American ''Popstars'' group, Eden's Crush, has yet to release an album.

RAINBOW FRIENDLY Organizers of Outfest 2001: The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (July 12-23) have nominated several actors for their Screen Idol Awards. The nominees are: Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp for ''Before Night Falls,'' Robert Downey Jr. for ''Wonder Boys,'' Dan Futterman for ''Urbania,'' and Stuart Wells for ''Billy Elliot.'' For best actress, Ellen DeGeneres, Chloe Sevigny, and Vanessa Redgrave were nominated for ''If These Walls Could Talk 2'' along with Julianna Margulies for ''What's Cooking'' and Maria Schrader for the foreign film ''Aimee & Jaguar.'' Winners are chosen by a national vote online and will be announced April 20.

POP ACTING Two singers have crossed over to the world of acting. Teen pop singer Mandy Moore, who debuts in the upcoming Disney pic ''The Princess Diaries,'' and Shane West (''Once and Again'') are in negotiations to star in the Warner Bros. romance ''A Walk to Remember.'' Director Adam Shankman (''The Wedding Planner'') is scheduled to start the adaptation, based on author Nicholas Sparks' 1999 novel, April 6 in North Carolina

Rapper - actor Pras has signed on to star in the low budget comedy ''Go for Broke'' for writer - director Jean Claude La Marre, who will appear in the project. Shooting started Monday in Los Angeles and features Michael Goorjian (''SLC Punk!'') and LisaRaye.

CASTING ''American Pie'' vet Tara Reid (the future Mrs. Carson Daly) is in final talks to costar with Ashton Kutcher (''That '70s Show'') in Miramax / Dimension's ''The Guest.'' Reid will play Kutcher's boss's daughter and potential love interest. Former ''Conan O'Brien'' sidekick Andy Richter plays Reid's older brother. Shooting starts in mid- April in Vancouver with David Zucker (''BASEketball'') directing.

Comedian Dave Chappelle (''Half Baked'') joins the cast of Universal's live action adaptation of Urban Entertainment's animated comedy series ''Undercover Brother.'' The online comedy follows a professional (Eddie Griffin of ''Double Take'') who is actually an agent working for a secret society of African American men. Malcolm Lee (''The Best Man'') will direct the comedy, which begins March 26 in Los Angeles.

DELAYED Björk's next album, ''Vespertine,'' has been pushed back from its original May 22 release date to August, according to SonicNet.com. Because of the delay, she has also postponed her tour to promote the new album. ''Vespertine,'' Björk's fourth studio album, has been delayed for no official reason. The Icelandic singer - writer - producer most recently recorded ''Selmasongs,'' the soundtrack to last year's Lars Van Trier drama ''Dancer in the Dark,'' in which she also starred. For those who can't wait until late summer to see Björk on stage, she is scheduled to perform ''I've Seen It All,'' ''Dancer'''s Oscar nominated song, at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 25.